Weather Forecast

Pioneer staff reports

Contact Email

History

Author Content

Marjorie Anne Oustad, 82, of Bemidji, formerly of Duluth, Minn. died Friday, Dec. 26, 2008 at her home. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008 at the Park Hill Cemetery Chapel in Duluth with burial to follow. The Cease Family Funeral Home of Bemidji assisted the family with arrangements. Honorary pallbearers will be her grandchildren, Meghan, Matthew and Thomas Oustad. She was born on March 9, 1926, to Louis and Margaret (Bronson) Catlin in Superior, Wis. She was raised and educated in Duluth and graduated from Denfeld High School in 1944.

Chester "Chet" John Benson, 71, of Bemidji, died Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008, at his home. The funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home in Bemidji with Rev. Mark Papke- Larson officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Burial will be in the Greenwood Cemetery in Bemidji. Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home of Bemidji assisted the family with arrangements. Pallbearers will be Laura Rahr, Nancy Benson, Madison Benson, Duke Turnbull, Jay Benson, Myles Turnbull and Jack Benson. He was born Oct.

Helena B. (Polish given name, Hilcha) Garcia, 92, of Bagley, died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008, at the Cornerstone Nursing Home in Bagley. The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. today at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Bagley with Ray Nelson officiating. Burial will be in the Bagley City Cemetery. The Cease Family Funeral Home of Bagley assisted the family with arrangements. She was born Jan. 5, 1916, to Leo and Francis (Franciscka Wielinska) Bonik in Little Falls, Minn. The family moved to Mahnomen, Minn., in 1917. In 1919, they moved to Stevens Point, Wis.

Peter William Swanson, 68, of Bemidji, died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008. The funeral will held at 11 a.m. Monday at the Cease Family Funeral Home in Bemidji with Rev. Mark Papke-Larson officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the Cease Family Funeral Home. Burial will be in the Frohn Eastside Cemetery in Bemidji. He was born July 5, 1940, to Ollie and Evy (Holmberg) Swanson in Evanston, Ill. He was raised and educated in Batavia, Ill., where he graduated from high school in 1958. He married Lyn Davey on June 29, 1963, in Chicago.

Roger Allan Pihlaja, 60, from Snellman and Ponsford, Minn., area, died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008 at his home. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Snellman with the Rev. Edward Behling officiating. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Sunday at the Jones-Pearson Funeral Home in Park Rapids. Military Honors will be provided by the Star of the North Marine Corps League and the Wolf Lake VFW Post.

Delma Elizabeth Hardy, 23, formerly of Ponemah, died August 7, 1996, in Chicago, Ill. Traditional funeral services will be held at noon Sunday at the Ponemah Community Center with a Spiritual Leader. A wake began Friday at the Ponemah Community Center and will continue until the time of the services.

Travis Kim Boe, 21, of Bagley, died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008, at the Clearwater Memorial Hospital in Bagley. The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, at the Faith Lutheran Church in Bagley with Mardy Schermerhorn officiating. A wake will begin at 4 p.m. Jan. 2 at the Rice Lake Community Center in Rice Lake, Minn., and will continue until noon Jan. 3. Visitation will be at the church one hour prior to the services at the church. Burial will be in the Bagley City Cemetery in Bagley. The Cease Family Funeral Home of Bagley assisted the family with arrangements.

Helena B. (Polish given name, Hilcha) Garcia, 92, of Bagley, died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008, at the Cornerstone Nursing Home in Bagley. The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. today at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Bagley with Ray Nelson officiating. Burial will be in the Bagley City Cemetery. The Cease Family Funeral Home of Bagley assisted the family with arrangements. She was born Jan. 5, 1916, to Leo and Francis (Franciscka Wielinska) Bonik in Little Falls, Minn. The family moved to Mahnomen, Minn., in 1917. In 1919, they moved to Stevens Point, Wis.

Roger Allan Pihlaja, 60, from Snellman and Ponsford, Minn., area, died Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2008 at his home. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Snellman with the Rev. Edward Behling officiating. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Sunday at the Jones-Pearson Funeral Home in Park Rapids. Military Honors will be provided by the Star of the North Marine Corps League and the Wolf Lake VFW Post.